Manufacturers Face £940M Business Rates Hike

0:00On April 7th, British manufacturers are staring down an extra 940 million pounds a year in business rates, thanks to changes from Chancellor Rachel Reeves kicking in this month. Factories make up a fifth of England's and Wales's property rateable value, even though manufacturing is just a tenth of the economy, hitting them. Hardest because of those massive factory floors. Back in November's budget, Reeves jacked up the rates with a new surcharge on buildings worth over 500,000 pounds in rateable value. Pubs, live music spots, and retailers kicked up a fuss, and the government blinked, rolling out 80 million pounds in discounts to keep some from. Shedding down. Make UK, the big industry voice, says this system is outdated and punishes makers way more than other sectors. It's brutal timing too, with energy bills spiking from global tensions like the US Israel conflict involving Iran, piling on cost manufacturers can't. Control. New numbers show 380,000 manufacturing sites across England and Wales, with industrial properties clocking 14 billion.

1:08Pounds in rateable value. In a survey of 132 firms, a fifth will get slammed by that high value multiplier. Manufacturers are calling for rates tied to turnover or company size plus a year's heads up on hikes. With local services funded this way, the pressure is on for the government to rethink and ease the load on this key sector before it buckles.